Thunderstorm asthma —  a timely reminder

Howden, Megan L; McDonald, Christine F; Sutherland, Michael F

doi:10.5694/mja11.11044

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To the Editor: The approach of spring, together with high winter rainfall in and around Melbourne,1 heralds another severe pollen season, raising the risk of allergic rhinitis and asthma in pollen-sensitive individuals. It is therefore timely to report an epidemic of “thunderstorm asthma” that occurred in Melbourne during spring 2010.

Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: megan.howden@austin.org.au

Competing interests:

Christine McDonald has received funding (for advisory board membership, research and conference attendance) from GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Novartis. Michael Sutherland has received honoraria for lectures from AstraZeneca and Stallergenes.

1. Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Annual climate summary 2010. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/annual_sum/2010/AnClimSum10_LR1.0.pdf (accessed Jul 2011).
2. Suphioglu C, Singh M, Taylor P, et al. Mechanism of grass-pollen-induced asthma. Lancet 1992; 339: 569-572.
3. Bellomo R, Gigliotti P, Treloar A, et al. Two consecutive thunderstorm associated epidemics of asthma in the city of Melbourne. The possible role of rye grass pollen. Med J Aust 1992; 156: 834-837.
4. Taylor P, Jonsson H. Thunderstorm asthma. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 2004; 4: 409-413.
5. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Thunderstorm asthma” reaches epidemic proportions. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/25/3076420.htm?site=melbourne (accessed Jul 2011).

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